580EX Built-in Diffuser Wide Panel ???

[GovtLawyer]

I have a few questions about the built in wide panel and diffuser. First, the wide panel. When do you use it? If the widest lens I have is an 18 (translated to a 29 mm) would I ever have need for it? It seems that it goes to a 14mm. Does it simply widen the coverage, or does it soften the light at the same time? If it softens the light, perhaps I would want to use it even if my field of view is narrower than the light's coverage.

Now, for the diffuser/bounce. I have been using a white card taped to the back of the flash for 30 years, when bouncing the flash. The card directs light to the subject to compliment the bounced light. The card has always been wider than the flash head. I used the in flash card today, and the preliminary result seems to be that it may be as good, or actually better, in that it appears the in flash card is whiter than the presumably white cards I have been using. Does the small compact nature of the card make any significant difference over the larger index card?

Is there ever an occasion when you can envision using both at the same time?

[tim]

Like you say, you use the diffuser panel when you're using a lens wider than 18mm, so you get full flash coverage. You can get lenses down to 10mm, but the flash probably won't work well with them.

I never tried the white card thing, I use a diffuser.

Could I envision using the diffusion panel and a diffuser like a LightSphere II at the same time? Probably not. I don't see any advantages if you use a well designed diffuser, just more wasted light going in the wrong direction. I'm tempted to put tinfoil on the inside back of my lightsphere II to reduce wasted light too.

[rent]

the wide panel (semi-transparent piece) is not a diffuser, it works like an add-on lens and make the flash coverage wider. with your setting you probably won't need it.

the white card is not a diffuser. it is a catchlight panel which can be used to... create a catchlight in the subject's eyes. you use it with the flash pointing straight up with the wide panel retracted. you generally want to do this when you are fairly close to the subject; otherwise it won't be effective.

i can't think of a scenario where you'd have both the wide panel and the catchlight panel extended.

-alex

[jcospolich]

i too had similar questions, as I primarily shoot with a 580EX and a 10-22mm for interior real estate shots. I have heard that the diffuser (wide) panel really only does the trick when you are using direct (non-bounce) flash. I would say 85% of the time I prefer bounce flash, as do most others, to reduce harshness, shadows, and too much flash in foreground. You will notice that if you pull out the diffuser, on auto the zoom range will go down to 14mm. You can still adjust FEC and other stuff. But when you angle the flash up to bounce, the FEC setting flashes and I can't change it.

Any ideas?

Also, for the average interior room (they're all very diff), I can usu get enough flash coverage shooting in M, f/8-11, 1/60-1/200, FEC+1, ISO 400.

[Curtis N]

Any ideas?Idea #1: Turn the flash off and use a tripod for interior shots.

Idea #2: If you feel you need bounced flash, zoom it to 24mm and point it at the ceiling. When you're bouncing flash, changing the zoom setting merely changes the size of the area of the ceiling receiving the light. The ceiling produces a diffuse reflection and throws the light in all directions. That's the beauty of ceiling bounce.

[Rudy M.]

For some really nice and even light, try deploying the wide panel before putting on the Fong LS2PJ. It helps to disperse the light even more than just the LS2PJ, with or without dome. Without the wide panel deployed, more of the light tries to go up through the LS2PJ only to bounce off the ceiling. I think there is sort of a "hot" spot where this beam of light hits the ceiling where it is consetrated, especially with high ceinlings. I read somewhere, Fong I think, says to manually set the flash to 50mm zoom range, regardless of what focal length lens is being used. I don't bother however.

I also believe the white catch light panel works rather well, especially in a room with say a 10 foot ceiling and the subject about 20 feet away--angle the flash at 45° or 60°angle.

[jcospolich]

i like idea2 and will continue that approach.
idea 1 is a no go, since I shoot so many units, and since the pics end up getting ultra compressed by MLS and property websites, I don't feel the need to use tripod often for interior shots. I just don't have the time. handholding with flasg usu produces adequate enough results, esp. considering most of my pics are under the 400x300px size.

[Curtis N]

If your shots are being downsized that much, you may as well crank up the ISO and shoot with ambient only, hand-held. High ISO noise will go away with the downsizing, as will slight motion blur, so you can get away with a relatively slow shutter speed. If you don't want to post-process your shots then the tricky part will be getting the white balance right.

[jcospolich]

thanks Curtis. I like the flash. I think ISO800 is the limit. ISO1600 even at such a small size, is apparent.

for my setup (no tripod, usu. bounce flash, little to no post processing, time poverty), I am thinking of the below settiings as a starting point-
f/8, 1/125, flash white balance, ISO 800, FEC +1